Petition to change The Last Of Us Part 2’s narrative has amassed an incredible support.
The Last of Us Part II’s plot quickly proved controversial among fans for one main reason – no matter how it was presented or handled. No one likes seeing one of their beloved video game characters die right at the beginning of a sequel’s opening hours! Naughty Dog’s bold move certainly stands out.
Joel’s death, while heartbreaking to watch, set in motion the events of The Last of Us Part II. Without an impetus to exact revenge on Joel and take out Dina as well, Ellie might just have settled back into Jackson with Dina and her adoptive dad for good – while this would have made for an ideal scenario, there wouldn’t have been room for The Second Game otherwise!
Although his death had solid grounds, an overwhelming amount of The Last Of Us Part II (TLOU) fans launched a petition at launch time demanding it be changed altogether. On Change.org, this “remake the storyline of The Last Of Us Part II” campaign garnered 55,180 signatures within just over one month before eventually closing on 15 July 2020.
“The Last of Us Part II boasted fantastic gameplay, graphics and mechanics while boasting exceptional gunplay; however, its storyline was an absolute mess,” wrote campaign creator. They killed off one of our favourite characters while forcing us to use one that had killed Joel off instead. In addition, players were expected to develop relationships with Abby throughout half the game even though Ellie wasn’t even main protagonist!
“Naughty Dog should remake The Last of Us with scenes taken directly from trailers featuring Joel instead of arbitrarily model swiping him from flashbacks,” they continued, demanding “a remake or at the very least DLC with an alternate ending as this has been an outrage to fans who waited seven long years for this sequel and paid $60 in fees to see our vision fulfilled”.
Of course, Joel wasn’t successful despite gathering so many signatures. Perhaps Part II’s TV adaptation might alter some things slightly but I suspect his fate remains.
